(AP) — A new report says Nebraska’s preliminary unemployment rate was 3.9 percent in October, down from 4.1 percent in September.

The state Department of Labor released two months’ worth of employment data on Friday. The September unemployment rate was one-tenth of a percentage point lower than the rate in August.

The rates were well below the national unemployment rate of 7.3 percent in October. The national rate increased by one-tenth of a percentage point.

Nebraska’s preliminary rates in September and October were published simultaneously because of the federal government’s partial shutdown, which delayed the release of the September numbers.

The report says Nebraska’s non-farm employment grew to 981,281 in October, an increase of 4,561 from the previous month.